I am thinking about applying to CSU for grad school. I am an Asian girl currently living in California. I kind of want to get out of California because it is expensive to live here and I want to experience living in a new place. From what I’ve researched so far, I like that rent is cheaper, the crime rates are a lot lower than in California, and the nature/outdoors of Fort Collins.
What I want to know is…are people friendly in Fort Collins? I heard that Colorado doesn’t really like Californians, is that true? Would it be hard for me to make friends since I’m from California?
Let’s see…the only thing worse then a Californian is a Texan. seriously you won’t have any problem making friends if you’re from Cali, especially in a college town like Ft Collins where there are a ton of students from OOS.
You also might want to make sure the program you are applying to at CSU is a good fit for you and one in which you will thrive. You want grad school to be a strong enabler for recruitment or further graduate research/opportunities. Graduate school is not all about the cost of rent or whether or not you are from California or China. The Arizona schools ( particularly Arizona State) also have a lot of international students and access to Asian supermarkets and in the 5th largest city in the country with phenomenal opportunities to nature and the outdoors. Ft Collins is a bit smaller, though a wonderful and accepting community.
Fort Collins is friendly. Its about 150,000 people, and its close to the Wyoming border,
so it has a rural feel to it, with a lot of cattle, deer, and hiking trails and a view of Long’s Peak, Mount Meeker, and the Mummy Range from town. I lived there for ten years and enjoyed the vitality of the city and university. It has some high tech companies like Broadcom, which makes semiconductor devices for cell phones, AMD, and Intel as well as Hewlett Packard.
Colorado State’s campus and community dominates the city, making it a college town. Good access to the Poudre Canyon for camping and hiking. The downtown area of Fort Collins, called Old Town, is close to campus. There is a brand new football stadium on campus, but the academics are strong in biology, pre vet, premedical studies, engineering, physics, and some humanities and social sciences,
as well as agribusiness and agriculture. It may compare well to U of Cal Davis, your agricultural school in California. There are plenty of Asian Indian and Chinese Americans and students from the Middle East, as well as Californians of
all ethnic groups. The Vet School is top ten in the nation. The business college is OK. There are not PhD programs in some subjects like History because U of Colorado in Boulder offers those humanities PhD degrees. There are PhD degrees in the sciences and engineering.
Cross country skiing is west of campus. Its not as cold and snowy most years in the town but the mountains get
plenty of snow. Downhill skiing is a good three hours away at least. The resorts are to the west of Denver, but Steamboat Springs downhill skiing is over the Poudre Canyon, again a good three hour drive.
@leilanifaith
What is your intended major and degree program? Colorado School of Mines has stronger engineering masters degrees compared to CSU, in some fields, especially chemical engineering.
There are Asian markets in Fort Collins, but I would agree that ASU is a bigger city by far than Fort Collins. https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Asian+Supermarket&find_loc=Fort+Collins%2C+CO
Fort Collins is very friendly!! It’s a college town (CSU is the biggest employer), but you should find a great community here to start a family if you want to leave Cali. When I first came to CSU, I was welcomed with open arms. They’d love to have you. Having lived in California for 11 years (military), I feel you. The “Condescending Coloradans” is completely untrue.
No reason to wear your “I’m From California” t-shirt. Just teasing. It is a super friendly place. Great people. The welcoming atmosphere of both the community and CSU itself is what sold my son on attending CSU (he is a student there now).
seriously you won’t have any problem making friends if you’re from Cali, especially in a college town like Ft Collins where there are a ton of students from OOS.